Kimbo Camper BS and Mods

That's a tough one...it's kind of a square block in a round hole type situation...

 

Ok, so who's the one in a dark blue tacoma heading west on I-90 near Cle Elum on Friday afternoon? I was going west and spotted ya!

 

Hey Voltron4x4, I've looked at your wood stove build several times and it looks great! I currently have a stripped Kimbo on order (#504) and planning to order a Cubic Mini wood stove to compliment a diesel heater. I might have missed it, but do you have the Cubic Cub or Grizzly? And do you think it's a good size or would you go with the other size option? Thanks Bud !

 

Kevtron, this same OME suspension has been suggested by my shop on Tacoma with Kimbo. Have you been pleased with results?

 

I just finished installation of my Batwing Compact. It was a few day process but I’m 90% happy with the outcome!

 

First off yes I’m sorry it’s on a Ford right now while my Yota is being rented out.

I had quite a few challenges.
1. Had to cut and re-weld the main brackets so the awning would sit at 90° and not an angle. After multiple attempts at heating and bending, I gave up and cut then re-welded.

2. Some of my screws for the interior paneling were seized. I had to pop the rivets out . Ended up just JB welding then back in place temporarily.

3. The stove is a bit in the way of the last section of awning so I’ll have to take it down to adjust.

I would do it again, it seems to be VERY secure and I don’t off-road anymore so no worries about it ripping off.

any questions?

 

Thanks for the details and pics. The chimney and door is what I'm worried about clearance-wise if I try and install something like yours.

 

Hey all - I drive a 2017 Tacoma with a 12v outlet in the bed and have the standard EcoFlow Pro in my Kimbo. I have read that the outlet in the box should produce 100W while driving, but mine never stays on. I'm not able to charge my Kimbo battery at all while driving. Not sure if this is normal or not.

Are you all able to charge you Kimbo battery while driving?

Also, when I'm parked I have read that outlet should produce 400W, however mine NEVER gets that high. While in park, with zero output on the EcoFlow, it takes an hour or more to increase 5-10%.

Curious if anyone else has this issue or if I'm dealing an inverter issue....

 

Give this a try, "Anytime 400w". It gives you a 110v outlet inside the cab, plus you get the full 400w available when you're driving out of the 'new' interior plug as well as the truck bed outlet. I installed this in my truck last year and it's been great - pretty easy install also
https://guildoutfitters.com/product...terior-outlet-upgrade-kit-by-guild-outfitters

 

Super cool mod! I'll be ordering one of these! However, I'm still unsure why my plug doesn't work at all when I'm driving. Are other Kimbo Tacoma owners able to charge their EcoFlow at 100W while driving? Part of me thinks the factory plug has some sort of safety fuse that is kicking off the power to the plug... With no draw from the EcoFlow.

 

The Guild Outfitters anytime 400w, eliminates the Toyota 100w safety, which in my opinion is dumb. If you're worried about it, don't plug anything in that draws that high - Anyways - I'd give it a try and it might solve all your problems. The inverter is below the center storage console. So when you crack all that open to install the anytime 400w, you can investigate the system at the same time if you like. The 400w anytime is a direct plug n play, so you can plug it in and test the system before closing things back up. Hardest part with the 400w anytime is cutting a clean hole for your new outlet.

 

sorry, forgot - I picked mine up at an Overland Expo and got a decent discount. It is Expo season, so you might be able to find the 400w anytime on sale

 

I appreciate the recommendation, but I'm still very curious from other folks.... Do other Kimbo/Tacoma owners have issues getting a charge of 100W from their Tacoma outlet to their EcoFlow in their Kimbo? It's unclear to me if this SHOULD work with the factory plug and the standard EcoFlow battery in the Kimbo.

I'd appreciate hearing from others if the stock setup works for them to get a charge while driving.

 

I set my Ecoflow to the slow charge setting and am able to charge while driving it or idling. On the fast charge setting it draws too much power and the truck will stop charging the battery.

 

Thanks a lot and good to know! I've never messed with the slow charge settings and never thought I'll try charge on this setting for the time being until I can get a the plug ordered and installed. Thanks for that recommendation as well
SnowyMtn!

 

Had some time last weekend to mock up the air dam. This week I got the tubes cut and welded up for the struts, machined bushings, pop-riveted the reinforcements and mounting. First pic is mock up with card board - was planning to mount the air dam to the roof at the rack mounting points but didn’t want to tear into the truck and open the possibility of leaks at this point. Second pic is after using and old eyecrometer and bunch of guesstimates because I had the Kimbo off and changed the mounting location to the Kimbo. Was real worried all the welding and work on the struts would be wasted but it ended up working out better than I could have hoped. Last pic is all riveted and testing the possibility of wings to match up with the Kimbo angles better. I want to get it out on the freeway to actually see if it’ll be stable before putting any additional work into it.

 

Hey sorry, haven't been able to swing by here lately. I have the cubic cub, plenty of heat. During winter camping I'll load it up before bed and throw some more on about 4-5hrs later. You can always switch to the diesel heater at that point. I believe the larger Grizzly would definitely be too much and would be harder to keep your clearances depending on what else you plan on adding inside. I'll have the windows cracked with it below 20 outside. Just make sure to switch the fan to pull air in so it doesn't suck the smoke out of the stove. During cold fall days and snowy ones, it's great to have one in there. Look forward to it every time. Easy to set up and break down too.

 

Thanks Voltron! Sounds perfect. Cubic has a sale going on right now, so was planning for the Cub, just wanted to confirm it was adequate since it is so small. Good gouge on the fan direction! I can't wait! Our Kimbo build is scheduled to be completed early October - just the shell - then we'll build out the interior ourselves. So have started collecting all the bits n pieces. Another question.... I'm hoping to get away with a 40" stove pipe. How long of pipe do you normally run? I see you've got a pretty long piece attached in your pictures. I'd rather have something permanent - or worst case add maybe a 20" piece when necessary which would bring me to about 60" chimney length.

 

Yep, I have 40" total of insulated pipe in two sections. There is also the adjustable non insulated pipe that is permanent with one of the 20" insulated sections. These two sections keep the ride hight level with the Kimbo roof perfectly. When you're ready to get the stove going, it takes about 5min to add the second insulated pipe which I keep in the propane storage. With the two 20" insulated sections I've had plenty of draft even with high wind. I do have a nice cap that may aid in that performance too.

Also, this site and calculator definitely save me from having to cut two holes in the angled roof. Took me forever to find the first time but knew something like it was out there. Triple check your measurements and load them in to this tool and it will give you a printed out. Once you place your stove inside where you want it and have your clearances, measure straight up to figure out the center. Depending on how you mount it it will probably be a little different than mine. Hope that helps.

https://www.blocklayer.com/pipe-angle

https://www.woodlanddirect.com/vacu-stack-solid-pack-stainless-steel-chimney-cap/538958.html

 

That's great information - Thank You !! The cap is very interesting, I was looking at the Spanish helmet (Not sure exactly what it's called) But will look into this one as well. I'm definitely saving the link for the calculator. Thanks again Voltron - everything if very much appreciated!